What Happens When Your Washington Notary Commission Expires or Lapses

The Moment Your Commission Expires, You Are No Longer a Notary

There is no grace period. When your four-year Washington notary commission reaches its expiration date — the date printed on your stamp — you lose all authority to perform notarial acts. Any notarization you perform after that date is void, and the document may need to be re-executed with a currently commissioned notary.

This catches people for two reasons. First, the expiration date is tied to your surety bond term under WAC 308-30-050, and bond expiration dates do not always align with when you think you started. Second, the DOL does not send automatic renewal reminders. If you lose track of your expiration date, you will not find out from the state.

Expired vs. Lapsed: The Practical Difference

An expired commission is one that reached the end of its four-year term. This is the normal end of a commission lifecycle. Once it has expired, the route back to active status is a new commission application, not a late renewal.

A lapsed commission is one that terminated mid-term because the surety bond was cancelled, failed to renew, or otherwise became inactive before the commission's expiration date. Under WAC 308-30-050, your commission term is linked directly to your bond. If your bonding company cancels your bond — for nonpayment, a claim, or any other reason — your commission is automatically suspended.

A lapsed commission is more urgent because it can happen without warning. If you received your bond through your employer and they stopped paying the premium, your bond may lapse before you realize it. You would be performing notarizations without active authority, exposing yourself to personal liability.

What You Cannot Do with an Expired or Lapsed Commission

• Perform any notarial act — no acknowledgments, no jurats, no oaths, no copy certifications, no remote online notarizations
• Use your stamp — affixing an expired commission stamp to any document is a misrepresentation, regardless of whether you knew the commission had expired
• Charge fees for notarial services
• Hold yourself out as a notary public in any advertising, business card, website, or directory listing

The consequences of notarizing with an expired commission range from the notarization being challenged and voided (requiring re-execution) to potential disciplinary action by the DOL if the act was knowing.

How to Reinstate or Renew

Washington does not have a formal "reinstatement" process that reactivates your old commission. Whether your commission expired naturally or lapsed mid-term, the path back is the same: you apply for a new commission.

The new-commission application process:

1. Secure a new $10,000 surety bond for the new commission
2. Execute a new Oath of Office — the same Form NP-659-009 process as your initial application, notarized by a currently commissioned notary
3. Submit the new commission application through the SecureAccess Washington (SAW) portal or by mail, with the $40 initial application fee
4. Wait for DOL processing — online submissions typically take 10–14 business days; paper applications approximately 30 calendar days
5. Order a new stamp once your new commission certificate is issued (your old stamp has your expired commission number and date — it cannot be reused)

If you also held the electronic records endorsement or the RON endorsement, those ended with your base commission. Reapply for the endorsements with the new commission; the electronic endorsement adds $15 to the new application ($55 with the base commission), and RON has no separate state fee.

The Gap Period Problem

Between the date your commission expired and the date your new commission activates, you are in a gap where you cannot notarize. For workplace notaries, this means someone else must handle notarizations during the gap. For mobile notaries and signing agents, this is lost income.

To avoid the gap, use the DOL's 120-day renewal window and submit your renewal before your current commission expires.

What to Do with Your Old Stamp and Journal

When your commission expires (whether you renew or not):

• Destroy your old stamp. Even if you are renewing, your new commission will have a different expiration date and may have a different commission number. The old stamp is no longer valid and must be destroyed to prevent misuse.
• Keep your old journal. The 10-year retention requirement under RCW 42.45.180 runs from the journal's last entry, not from your commission expiration.
• Use a separate journal if helpful. You may start a new journal for the new commission, but retain the old journal until 10 years after its last entry.

Tracking Your Expiration

The simplest safeguard is checking your stamp — the expiration date is printed right on it. Set a calendar reminder for 60 days before that date. The Washington Notary Commission guide includes the full renewal timeline and a maintenance tracker that flags your renewal window so the gap problem never happens.

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